Two big things happened in the last week, and they're both going to require our attention for the next four years and beyond: the national election repudiated religious conservatives and handed Obama a second term, and Hurricane Sandy destroyed many thousands of lives.

Our allies in New Orleans and Haiti taught us the aftermath of a disaster like Sandy will last a long, long time and have far-reaching impact on things like public housing, privatization of government, and civil and human rights. We need to look ahead to hold the government accountable to a people's recovery that meets people's needs and is driven by a people's agenda guided by the principles of human rights.

Meanwhile, Obama's re-election means we need to hold the president accountable for the change we want to see. Here are the changes we will keep fighting for in Obama's second term:

Close Guantanamo, and end torture through indefinite detention. Repatriate or resettle the men the government does not intend to prosecute, and provide fair trials for the rest

End the use of solitary confinement in prisons across the country

End unlawful “targeted killings” and the expansion of the Orwellian “disposition matrix.” Acknowledge, investigate and provide reparations for unlawful civilian killings

End the war in Afghanistan and pull all private military contractors out of Iraq and Afghanistan

Abandon the endless global war paradigm as the basis for abusive national security policies and end the use of war force outside of war zones

Investigate and prosecute former high-level U.S. officials who bear responsibility for torture and war crimes committed in Afghanistan, Iraq and the “black sites”

Provide medical treatment and compensation to people subjected to torture in U.S.-run detention facilities, including in Iraq and Afghanistan as well as Guantánamo, and provide war reparations to communities in Iraq and Afghanistan for harms done to the people and the environment

End the persecution of whistleblowers and journalists like Julian Assange, Wikileaks and Bradley Manning for protected First Amendment activity

Increase transparency, sunshine and freedom of information in federal law enforcement and prisons and end overclassification of unlawful or embarrassing government conduct

Stop the criminalization of dissent: end the stifling of activist expression under the anti-free-speech National Defense Authorization Act and the Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act and end overbroad prosecutions for terrorism under material support laws

Stop the criminalization and profiling of communities based on race and religion:end the devastating Secure Communities program that destroys families and spreads fear in immigrant neighborhoods

End warrantless surveillance and stop the indiscriminate targeting and surveillance of Muslim, Middle Eastern, and South Asian communities under the guise of national security

Center women's equality in all policy and legislative initiatives concerning their bodily autonomy and right to health

We know that we cannot rely on politicians or even the courts: only people can make meaningful change. This is a critical time for all of us to act to change the course of history and build a unified vision for a society guided by human rights. Hope only gets you so far. Let's get to work.

Obama's 2nd Term Mandate: Immigration Reform

National Immigration Law Cente

CHICAGO – President Barack Obama has won a second term, beating Republican challenger Governor Mitt Romney. Latinos – the fastest growing voting bloc in the nation – provided crucial votes to Obama in swing states. Asian Americans and other voters of color also played a huge role in re-electing the President. Many voted for the president’s re-election not simply to support his positions, but as a rebuke to Romney’s harsh anti-immigrant rhetoric. Below is a statement from Marielena Hincapié, executive director of the National Immigration Law Center:

“Americans have voted for a more inclusive country. Politicians on both sides of the aisle should finally realize that they can no longer scapegoat Latinos, immigrants, and other voters of color to score cheap political points among the xenophobic segments of our community without paying a price at the ballot box. President Obama, like Harry Reid two years ago, shrewdly recognized that his opponent’s harsh self-deportation policies about aspiring American citizens would only serve to drive Latinos and Asian Americans to vote against extremism.

“As a result, the mandate for President Obama, along with the newly elected members of Congress, should be clear: voters want an immigration system that treats aspiring citizens with dignity, and provides a roadmap for those living and working here to integrate fully into society.

“We fully recognize that one person cannot accomplish immigration reform on his own. We expect President Obama to exert his considerable leadership to replace a system that has for too long shattered Latino and other immigrant families and for Congress to come to the table. We will no longer tolerate status quo of record deportations and aggressive detention policies, and politicians on both sides of the aisle should recognize that if they adhere to these draconian positions, their political future is at risk. The demographic writing is on the wall: Republicans and Democrats alike should begin working now toward creating an inclusive society in the future, or risk losing the heart of future American voters.”

The Obama Administration has an ambitious agenda, and many of their policies will have a profound effect on immigrants’ lives. Here are a few of the most important issues affecting immigrants today:

- Immigration reform. Though President Obama has reiterated his support for immigration reform to Univision and the Des Moines Register, precious little has been said about how he would achieve such reform. Immigrant families have suffered under record breaking deportations; we must not allow these detention and deportation systems to continue to destroy immigrant communities simply because both parties cannot agree on how best to create a roadmap to citizenship for the men and women who are American in their hearts, if not by their papers.

- Immigrant access to health care. The Obama administration should continue to implement the Affordable Care Act (ACA) in as robust a fashion as possible, and any effort to reform our broken immigration system must protect access to existing affordable care options for newly authorized immigrants. This includes repealing an ill-advised rule excluding young immigrants granted a reprieve from deportation under Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals.

- Preventing family separation. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents should finally begin adhering to the memos issued by the administration that outline when an individual should be allowed to return to his or her family rather than undergo deportation proceedings. Currently, many individuals who should not be deported under the guidance are banished from the United States, often leaving loved ones and children behind.

- Promoting economic justice for all workers and their families. Working immigrant families have the most to lose under sequestration budget negotiations that will take place in the coming months. President Obama and Congress must protect critical safety-net programs, including the Child Tax Credit and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (food stamps), which help lift millions of families out of poverty each year.

- Promoting a level playing field for all workers. Ensure that abusive employers don’t use immigration status to thwart labor rights or to gain competitive advantage over workers by vigorously enforcing the agreement between the Department of Labor and Department of Homeland Security to ensure that workplace immigrant apprehension and detention doesn’t undermine labor standards enforcement.

Immigrants and their supporters are participating in marches all over the country to protest proposed national legislation and to seek justice for immigrants. The materials available here provide important information about the rights and risks involved for anyone who is planning to participate in the ongoing marches.

If government agents question you, it is important to understand your rights. You should be careful in the way you speak when approached by the police, FBI, or INS. If you give answers, they can be used against you in a criminal, immigration, or civil case.

The ACLU's publications below provide effective and useful guidance in several languages for many situations. The brochures apprise you of your legal rights, recommend how to preserve those rights, and provide guidance on how to interact with officials.

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